The weekly show "Questions About
Faith" on the Egyptian based Christian Al-Hayat
satellite channel features an Egyptian Coptic priest residing in the United States.
Father ZakariaBoutrus, the
show, and Al-Hayat TV itself, have
come under harsh criticism in the Egyptian press. Boutrus
and his show have been accused of attacking Islam; of being supported by the U.S. to sow
division and strife; and of "mocking the verses of Allah."

Al-Hayat TV has been accused of
being the work of foreign agents collaborating with the U.S., and Pope Shenouda III reportedly announced his opposition to the
station's broadcasts, and denied that the station was in any way connected with
the Egyptian Church. [1]

One episode which aired on July 4, 2005, discusses
anti-Christian verses that, according to Boutrus,
should be struck from the Koran. Another episode aired on June 27, 2005,
discusses a Hadith, which according to Boutrus, is "reminiscent of
Hitler." An episode from June 16, 2005, talks about how Islam is spread by
the sword.

Clip 1 - Coptic Priest ZakariaBoutrus: Verses Must be Struck from the Koran; I Demand an
Official Apology from Muslim Governments to Christians

Boutrus: "I live in a country (the U.S.) that
respects freedom of speech. I exercise my freedom of speech and talk, and no
one can deny my free will. Gone are the days of the sharp sword that cut off
the tongues of our people and forefathers to prevent them from speaking in the
Coptic language. Gone are the days people's heads would be chopped off if they
did not convert to Islam."

Interviewer: "What should the Muslims do to make you stop saying
these things?"

Boutrus: "My demands involve ten
important issues. Let's call it ten demands. The first demand... They are not
for my sake, but for the sake of truth, belief, and Jesus. First,
striking out all the Koranic verses that deny the
divinity of Jesus and the revelation of God in him. Second,
acknowledging that Jesus is the spirit and word of God, as they truly believe,
without hiding this fact. Third, striking out the Koranic
verses and hadithsthat incite to kill
Christians, like in the Al-Tawba chapter, v.29:
'Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in Judgment Day, nor do they
prohibit what Allah and His messenger have prohibited, nor do they follow the
religion of truth' – that is, Islam. Among whom?'Among the People of the Book.'

Interviewer: "Who are..."

Boutrus: "The Christians and Jews. 'Until they pay the Jizyapoll
tax in submission.' This is murder. Number four,
striking out the Koranic verses and Hadiths that incite to terrorism and oppression in all
their forms."

Interviewer: "What do you mean by terrorism and oppression?"

Boutrus: "Terrorism – 'Urge the
believers to fight,' and the hadith:
'I was commanded to fight people until they say: There is no God but Allah.'
All this is terrorism and murder. Number six:Stopping the attack on Jesus and the Holy Book in
mosques and in all the media. Number seven: Giving people and
Muslims the freedom of... You may ask what do I care about the Muslims? No! They must have the freedom to choose their
religion and the freedom to express their belief. Number eight:To abolish the punishment for apostasy, to stop
torturing people who convert to Christianity, and to stop imprisoning or even
killing them. Number nine:Formal
apologies must be made by leaders throughout the Arab world for the murder of
Christians in countries invaded by Islam. Number ten: Leaders throughout the
Arab world should make formal apologies for the insults directed against our
faith throughout Islamic history. The viewers may say: 'Is this priest crazy,
or what? These demands could only be made by an insane man... To strike out Koranic verses...
Does this make any sense? What is he going on about?' OK, if you cannot change
(the Koran), why are you asking us to change our beliefs? Why do you demand
that we say what you say, or else - the sword?

"(Al-Halabi) says: ' If
the Prophet wanted an available woman...' – in other words, an unmarried woman,
a widow, or a single woman – '...he was allowed to enter her...' I don't like
to use the word i-n-t-e-r-c-o-u-r-s-e. '...without
her guardian and without witnesses...' Without witnesses.
'...and against her will.' Against her will. 'If he
desired a married woman, her husband had to divorce her for him. And if he
desired a servant-girl, her master had to give her to him. He can even marry
off the woman to whoever he wants, against her will.'"

Interviewer: "We know that the Prophet is allowed what others are
not."

Boutrus: "Why? Is he made of different
stuff than the rest of mankind?"

Boutrus: "A hadithby the Prophet Muhammad says: 'Two religions will not exist together in the
Arabian Peninsula.'"

Host: "Is this not a type of racism?"

Boutrus: "This is Hitler. This is
Hitler, whom we despise. Who destroys entire nations? The (Jewish tribes of) BaniQureiza and BaniNadhir, and Najran... It is forbidden. Murdering people because they
don't have the same beliefs as you..."

Clip 3 - Coptic Priest ZakariaBoutrus on the Spreading of Islam By
the Sword

Boutrus:"Islam, as portrayed in the encyclopedia
of Islam, in the Koran and the Hadith, was spread by
means of the sword. 'The sword played a major role in spreading Islam in the
past, and it is the sword that preserves Islam today. Islam relies upon Jihad
in spreading the religion.' This is very clear in the encyclopedia. This
appears in section 11, page. 3,245. It says: 'Spreading Islam by means of the
sword is a duty incumbent upon all Muslims.' Thus, Islam is spread by means of
the sword.

"Another thing is the punishment for apostasy. 'The punishment of killing any Muslim who abandons Islam
is one of the most important factors terrifying all Muslim. He does not dare
question the truth of Islam, so that his thoughts will not lead him to abandon
Islam. In such a case, he would receive the punishment for apostasy: He would
lose his life, and his property and wives would permitted for all.'

"This reminds me of a true story that I heard about
the preachers who spread Islam in Africa. They
reached a certain place in order to spread Islam, and they asked one of the
locals: 'Do you prefer to worship one god and have four wives, or to worship
three gods and have one wife?' We, of course, don't worship three gods, but
that's what they said. The African said 'I like four women, and I don't care
which god. I want four women.' So they told him to say the shahada,
and he did.

"Then they told him he had to be circumcised in order
to become a Muslim. He asked: 'Do I really have to? I am a grown man.' They
answered: 'Yes, you have to, in order to get the monthly stipend, and you can
marry four wives.' The man agreed, and underwent the pains of circumcision
despite his advanced age. They began to pay him the monthly stipend, and after
a few months they cancelled the stipend. The man went and asked: 'Where's the
money?' They told him: 'Now you are deep in Islam, you don't need the monthly
stipend any more.' He threatened: 'I will abandon Islam.' They said: 'If you
leave Islam, we will carry out the apostasy punishment on you.' He asked what
it was, and they said: 'We will chop off your head, and cut you into pieces.'
This African man began to mumble: 'What a strange
religion: when you go in they cut off a little piece of you, and when you go
out, they cut you into little pieces.'

"This is the punishment for apostasy that keeps
people afraid. Even when they reach the truth, they're afraid to express their
opinion. There are other factors, such as upbringing from a young age. Children
are brainwashed that Islam is the truth, that Mohammad is the last prophet,
that the Christians are infidels and that the Jews are infidels. They repeat it
constantly.

"Since early childhood, he cannot think properly,
because a certain way of thinking is forced on him. In addition, the religion
of Islam satisfies the human urges, just like our (African) friend who said he
preferred four wives. 'Two, three, four, or however many you can.' It satisfies
the sexual urges and man's desire for ownership. It goes hand in hand with
human nature. It does not exalt human nature, but reduces itself to the level
of human nature."